Category Archives: Awards

Attending an Oscar Party hosted by Cucalorus is, in and of itself, a guarantee of a good time, but theSoul City team had an additional reason to celebrate walking the red carpet in Wilmington. Monica Berra, SheRea DelSol and Gini Richards were in attendance to receive a $1,000 grant from the Cucalorus Film Festival’s “Filmed in NC” Fund. Continue reading →

Sana Haq (MFA ’13) has been recognized as a promising new talent by the Directors Guild of America. Haq is the recipient of the DGA’s Jury Award for Best Asian-American Student Filmmaker in the East Region. Haq is the director of The Other Army, a film that explores Pakistan’s role in the war against terror and the affect it has had on Pakistanis. She also co-directedWicked Silence, an examination of North Carolina’s forced sterilizations program through the eyes of the people who were victimized by it, with Jess Pic (MFA ’13).

The DGA established the Student Film Awards for African American, Asian American, Latino and Women Directors to offer recognition, encouragement and scholarship to outstanding minority and women students. The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, December 4, 2013, at the Directors Guild of America Theater in New York.

The One Who Builds co-directed by Peter Carolla, Hillary Pierce and Nick Gooler, brings home a Best Short Documentary win at the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival. This marks the first best in category win for The One Who Builds.

The Legitimate Child, co-directed and co-produced by Michele Ferris and Kelly McKenna, will be featured in the Dayton Film Festival. The film will appear in the Shorts Blocks II screening on Sunday August 25th, 1:00 p.m. at the Neon in Dayton.

The Possum Drop, directed by Mindy Keeley, also continues its festival run with an official selection to the Knoxville Film Festival. The festival will be held September 19-22.

MFA students Sam Smartt and Chris Zaluski recently traveled to Los Angeles to attend the 34th Annual College Television Awards. The pair came home with a 2nd place win in the Documentary Division for their film Wagonmasters. The award, also known as a “Student Emmy” was presented by the American Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation.

Sana Attiq Haq has been award a $3,600 UFVA Carole Fielding Student Grant for The Other Army. A personal essay film, The Other Army, seeks to understand the issues faced by Pakistan in its struggle against terrorism. Haq says the film serves as a tribute to the people who have sacrificed their lives in counter-terrorism efforts and provides a glimpse into the lives of those they have left behind.

MFA student Chris Zaluski recently won the New Orleans Film Festival’s Pitch Perfect Competition for his film project, Wagonmasters. The contest involved film students from Florida State University, Loyola University, University of New Orleans and Tulane University as they presented a five-minute film pitch to a panel of film professionals. In addition to Zaluski, MFA student Jess Pic also pitched her film project, Wicked Silence.

Zaluski received $500 to be used toward the film’s production as well as MovieMagic budgeting software. His film project, Wagonmasters, is scheduled to be complete in the summer of 2012 and is being produced with co-director and MFA student Sam Smartt.

The Last Flight of Petr Ginz was recently honored with the Avner Shalev-Yad Vashem Chairman’s Award in the Jewish Experience competition at the Jerusalem International Film Festival. The award, presented by the Yad Vashem Visual Center, recognizes artistic achievement in Holocaust related films.

In a statement regarding its award decision, the jury commented: “The filmmakers treat the valuable materials, drawings, stories and diary of Peter, with the talent, respect and sensitivity that they deserve. They integrate into the story original animation, loyal to Petr’s visual style. The film is a monument to Petr, whose talent is an inspiration for children, adults and artists everywhere.”

The documentary Civil Indigent is the winner of a CINE Golden Eagle Award. According to Cine.org, “The CINE Golden Eagle Award has been recognized as a mark of excellence throughout the film and television industry for over 50 years.” Civil Indigent nabbed the award in the student documentary category.

The film was produced by Wake Forest MFA graduates Nick Corrao and Peter Salomone as well as Documentary Institute graduate David Hafter.

The documentary Civil Indigent was selected as a national finalist for a Student Academy Award. The film is one of three regional winners that will advance to the national round of judging, which will take place in mid-May.

The film was produced by MFA students Nick Corrao and Peter Salomone as well as David Hafter.

About the Program

Located in an historic cotton mill in downtown Winston-Salem, NC—the City of the Arts—the Documentary Film Program offers a 3-year MFA in Documentary Film and a 1-year MA in Sports Media and Storytelling.

DFP students make award-winning films and media content and get jobs with production houses, networks, non-profits and universities. They understand the power of narrative storytelling to document history, address societal issues and improve the human condition.